Pacific Interoceanic Canal Economic and Sociological

BIOENVIRONMENTAL AND RADIOLOGICAL-SAFETY FEASIBILITY STUDIES ATLANTIC - PACIFIC INTEROCEANIC CANAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW OF THE AZUERQ PENINSULA, PANAMA by Alejandro Hernández December 1, 1967 Prepared for Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus Laboratories, under the supervisión of Dra. Reina Torres de Arauz, Consultant, Human Ecology Studies, under U. S. Atomic Energy Commission Contract No. AT(26-1)-171 BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE Columbus Laboratories 505 King Avenue Columbus, Ohio 43201 BIOENVIRONMENTAL AND RADIOLOGICAL-SAFETY FEASIBILITY STUDIES ATLANTIC-PACIFIC INTEROCEANIC CANAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW OF THE AZUERQ PENINSULA, PANAMA by Alejandro Hernández December 1, 1967 Prepared for Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus Laboratories, under the supervisión of Dra. Reina Torres de Arauz, Consultant, Human Ecology Studies, under U. S. Atomic Energy Commission Contract No. AT(26-1)-171 BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE Columbus Laboratories 505 King Avenue Columbus, Ohio 43201 FOREWORD The purpose for presenting this special report is to furnish, to the scientists and technicians planning a new interoceanic canal, socioeconomic data of the Península of Azuero, an area which the undersigned considers of immediate concern. This report also can be considered as an introduction to more detailed studies that should be under taken in this región very soon as a natural and logical supplement to the studies being done elsewhere in the geographic sector of Route 17. The Archipelago de Las Perlas, lying in the Golfo de Panama near the Southeastern coast of the Republic, also should b the object of an in-depth study. The period during which these proposed investigations would be performed is important, and the studies ideally should be effected within a short time of each other so that a cióse relationship and equilibrium among the diverse data now being obtained might be secured. Reina Torres de Araúz Consultant Human Ecology Group TABLE OF CONTENTS Pag INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................................. 1 POPU LATION AND DEMOGRAPHY........................................................................................................ 2 HOUSING ..."................................................................................................................................................. 4 INTERNAL MIGRATION................................................................................................................................... 8 ECONOMY OF THE REGION...................................................................................................................... 10 Farm Production................................................................................................................................... 11 Livestock Production............................................................................................................................ 16 Milk Production................................................................................................................................... 18 Industrial Activities............................................................................................................................ 18 Fishing Activities................................................................................................................................... 19 Prospects of Mining............................................................................................................................ 20 BIBLIOGRAPHY 21 Route 17 - Interoceanic Canal Project FIGURE 1. MAP SHOWING RELATIONSHIP OF THE AZUERO PENINSULA TO THE AREA OF ROUTE 17, PANAMA i<>- <W San Francisco PANAMA g’&f c'; ’í /á -?'• Y MosQXf* 2? fscot C**A«ua % Babia Azul Note: Elevotions and .***, Laeuna de Chiriquí distances ¡n meters GOLFO DE L O S MOSQUITOS Ante fcncén Santa Guaraní O ‘í? \ *< X „ «Valle V ’ ’ • ' • • k. Ta””* ■• . ’ ' ♦ ./,o« $°r3 '' '- • .IrfSa . In-' Piedra Roía °Mununi 3 .La Pintada 'Gualaca Rio Grande Cfturute' Sf/ire L :Boca del Monte Batipa * Pío. Posada Hato -•*»* Horconcitos Opa'd’a Puerto Escondido San f Pocri // ^Francisco \ -¿/Aguadulce llano Sai- J¡r* Aguadulce La Loma Golfa Las Palmas CHIRIQUI v. iotoncs Ser * Mac í Montijo Cí Rincón Largo j #V,P*° Mutis X Sabana GrandeX* c ««' <**'•* 'uces^J>'**^V Giraré ‘X *A »as *D#,° Auaí A" 12 * Pto. LAS TABLAS **\¿c|o Oomíngo F| Sesteadero?\ ' ^iaCa*»1 •P \£.. N Mariúto Ped regos Golfa Mantua Manat> Lajamina A \ l •Quebró Árends\ * ¥"?, Tonos! Cambutal X Puf>ta V9r.a O CW„E A N O 8l' 00- P A C„Xf ¡PICO FIGURE 2. MAP SHOWING ROADS AND VILLAGES OF THE AZUERO PENINSULA, PANAMA ECONOMIC AND SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW OF THE AZUERO PENINSULA, PANAMA INTRODUCTION The ecology of more than 130,000 people living in the Azuero Península oí Panama and those living in the Archipelago de Las Perlas has become important to the planning for construction of Route 17 of the proposed new Interoceanic Canal (see Figure 1), since meteorological studies have indicated that both locales lie downwind from proposed Route 17 and could possibly be affected by fallout of radioactive materials during levelling operations. The age and civil status, by province, of the various segments of the population, their diets, and the economy of the región, including livestock production, fishing, farm- ing, and industrial activities, are significant factors in the planning being done by scientists working on the project. Also of importance are the patterns of internal migration of the residents and the problems typical of their unique dwellings. The area discussed in this paper ineludes only the Azuero Península, which is lo- cated about 125 miles West-Southwest of the project area and separated from it by the Golfo de Panama; the islands of the Archipelago de Las Perlas lie in the Eastern one- third of this body of water. The Península is made up of the provinces of Herrera and Los Santos and part of the province of Veraguas, all of which provide access to the Paci fic Ocean via small ports suitable for fishing use by small-scale fishermen operating rowboats and "cayucos”, the latter a notably seaworthy native dugout. The región is a part of the Pacific Plain, except for the mountainous spine of the Península, which is terminated at its Southern end by Cerro Cambutal, the highest point (3, 700 ft) in the area; several medium-size rivers origínate from the numerous peaks of the vicinity. The only two communities in the Península that could be classified as urban centers are Chitre (1960 population, 9120), the administrative seat of the province of Herrera, and Las Tablas (1960 population, 3504), seat of the province of Los Santos; both pro vinces are divided into seven political distriets. The best-known communities in the province of Veraguas on the Western coast of the Península are Arenas and Mariato. The latter village ñame serves to identify the región, with no reference necessary other than "Mariato". This sector of the Península is almost totally isolated from the rest of the country due to the geography of the area, with the province's district of Montijo lying on the West side of the mountain range that is the dominant feature of the región and south of an extensive swampland. Administratively, this district Selongs to Veraguas Province, with its seat at the "corregimiento" of Arenas. The population is rather scattered and its members1 main activity is reduced to subsistence agriculture. Transportation is mostly by sporadic lightplane Service and small-boat navigation. Elementary schools have recently been established, mainly in Quebró and Arenas. Since the Montijo District is so isolated, of such relative unimportance to the eco nomy of the Península, and because complete records of the statistics of the región are practically nonexistent, most tables in this report refer only to Herrera and Los Santos provinces. 2 Most of the Península's population resides along the Northeastern coast that is served by a modern paved highway connecting the localities, with numerous unpaved roads extending from the main route and one paved adjoining highway reaching halfway into the Península midway down the East coast. A third paved route extends South from the Carretera Interamericana to serve the Northern one-third of the Península and form a trunk connection for other unpaved roads in the Northeastern sector. POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHY One of the principal characteristics of that portion of the Pacific Plain constituting the Azuero Península, at least the latter's Eastern one-half, is its high population Índex relative to the rest of Panama. However, the population density of the región shows a dispersed habitat, especially if a count of dwellings is the basis for such a comparison of the provinces, which exhibit fundamental differences in that respect. While in Herrera Province the population density grew from 20. 6 inhabitants per square kilometer in 1950 to 25.4 in 1960, it grew in Los Santos Province from 15. 9 to 18. 2 during the same period (see Table 1). TABLE 1. POPULATION CHANGES IN THE AZUERO PENINSULA, PANAMA Density Political Subdivisión 1950 1960 Herrera Province *20. 6 *25.4 District: Chitre 122. 0 154. 0 Las Minas 11.0 13.2 Ocu 16. 1 20. 1 Parita 14. 6 17. 6 Pese 25.0 31.0 Los Pozos 16. 9 20. 3 Santa María 24. 8 29. 6 Los Santos Province *15. 9 *18.2 District: Guarare 32. 2 34. 4 Macaracas 18. 6 21.4 Pedasi 11.9 13. 5 Pocri 19. 6 19. 7

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